The original post: /r/television by /u/FKingPretty on 2025-05-27 12:01:41.
In the list of great tv shows Mr. Robot always seems to get lost in the Breaking Bads and Game of Thrones of it all. But, across its four seasons it’s hard to find another show that creatively took risks in its direction, structure and formatting. Obviously I’m not dismissing all shows but in recent memory, the show finishing in 2019, Mr. Robot is a standout. Especially across season four, which peaks with episode seven, (407 Proxy Authentication Required), in an expertly crafted five act narrative following the five stages of grief as the reality of Elliot is laid bare. It’s also an episode that reveals that creator Sam Esmail had structured character beats from the beginning onwards, unlike shows like Lost, who despite what they may say, came up with a lot of answers after the fact.
Elsewhere episodes like the silent movie type 405 Method Not Allowed and the one shot (but not really) eps3.4_runtime-err0r.r00 may come across as all style, no substance, but Esmail, who directed the episodes, ensures they serve the narrative at hand.
The show launched Rami Malek, who has never been better, and gave a late career resurgence to Christian Slater as the Mr. Robot of the piece. Also, not forgetting Carly Chaikin as Darlene, Martin Wallström as Tyrell Wellick, and stealing every scene he is in, BD Wong as the nefarious Whiterose.
Looking for a psychological crime thriller show set in the world of hacking and the 1% who secretly control the world? This is for you. The show remains just as relevant today as it ever did.